They’re caught in a trap – and they can’t walk out! Make that several traps, all arranged by Zelda the Great! Zelda’s trying to learn new tricks for her stage act, and she wants Batman and Robin to show her how to escape them…whether they want to or not. Plus: the Dynamic Duo heads west for a showdown with Shame!

Ze rules:

Post your review in the forum thread or in the comments section here on the front page.

Review as often or as little as you like. Once you've posted 5 reviews, you will be awarded 1 pick. You can post 5 reviews, right? That's a totally achievable goal and with day and date digital releases becoming the standard, it shouldn't matter if your shop ordered enough copies of this weeks comic or not.

When multiple Review Groupers have posted 5 (or more) qualifying reviews, they will be awarded their pick in the order that they qualified. What constitutes a qualifying review? Any review posted (with a score on a scale from 0-10, that's right 0!) within 1 calendar month of the thread going live. Reviews are to be at least 5 sentences long. It shows that a) you have at least read this week's pick and b) you have some unique insight into the comic.

Reviews posted while waiting in line for your pick will be applied to your next pick.

I'll be keeping track of everyone's progress with the newly christened Spreadsheet of Fantastic (RIP, Spreadsheet of Doom) and reporting the results in the Current Members list in the weekly OP. When it's your turn to make a pick, I will PM you. If you do not respond to me by Midnight EST the following Sunday, you will lose your pick and I will start a poll to determine that week's selection.

Any week in which we do not have a Review Grouper with 5 qualifying picks, we will determine the week's comic via poll.

They’re caught in a trap – and they can’t walk out! Make that several traps, all arranged by Zelda the Great! Zelda’s trying to learn new tricks for her stage act, and she wants Batman and Robin to show her how to escape them…whether they want to or not. Plus: the Dynamic Duo heads west for a showdown with Shame!

Ze rules:

Post your review in the forum thread or in the comments section here on the front page.

Review as often or as little as you like. Once you've posted 5 reviews, you will be awarded 1 pick. You can post 5 reviews, right? That's a totally achievable goal and with day and date digital releases becoming the standard, it shouldn't matter if your shop ordered enough copies of this weeks comic or not.

When multiple Review Groupers have posted 5 (or more) qualifying reviews, they will be awarded their pick in the order that they qualified. What constitutes a qualifying review? Any review posted (with a score on a scale from 0-10, that's right 0!) within 1 calendar month of the thread going live. Reviews are to be at least 5 sentences long. It shows that a) you have at least read this week's pick and b) you have some unique insight into the comic.

Reviews posted while waiting in line for your pick will be applied to your next pick.

I'll be keeping track of everyone's progress with the newly christened Spreadsheet of Fantastic (RIP, Spreadsheet of Doom) and reporting the results in the Current Members list in the weekly OP. When it's your turn to make a pick, I will PM you. If you do not respond to me by Midnight EST the following Sunday, you will lose your pick and I will start a poll to determine that week's selection.

Any week in which we do not have a Review Grouper with 5 qualifying picks, we will determine the week's comic via poll.

Staff Writer

The final issue of Animal Man here, and it’s bittersweet. It’s sad to say goodbye to this book, but of course, it’s not really goodbye, as Jeff Lemire will continue to write Buddy Baker in the pages of Justice League United, but still, that will be a different experience. This was a great epilogue to this run, and provided a nice bit of emotional closure for everyone about the death of Cliff Baker.

Lemire begins inside The Red, with Animal Man striking a deal with Socks and Sheperd. They become the new Totems (and totally digivolve when they do) in exchange for Buddy becoming the Avatar again, and for them to promise that Maxine will be left alone to be normal, and that when he dies, they’ll find someone totally new to be the next Avatar, which is a pretty fair deal all around I’d say.

Back in the real world, Buddy strikes a deal with Ellen too, he can still be Animal Man, but he can’t bring it home, the family has to be kept safe. Of course, all of this has the spectre of Bridgewalker hanging over it, and the promise Buddy made to her about becoming the universal Animal Man. There’s a shot of the creature in the background of one of the panels, and I’m certainly intrigued to see what happens when Lemire gets around to this story in the pages of JLU.

Buddy then goes in to check on Maxine, and she tells him a story. This story is basically a recap of the previous 28 issues, but from a kid’s perspective. It was great to celebrate and remember all of the cool stuff that happened in this run, but the most important thing here is the emotional place Maxine has reached when it comes to Cliff. She doesn’t want to bring him back anymore, as she now realises that, when she and her parents eventually die, they will be reunited, and that, thanks to the Red, she knows that Cliff’s spirit or soul or whatever is safe and happy in the Red. It was actually quite emotional.

The issue ends with Buddy saying goodnight to Maxine and Ellen, before spotting a spider on the carpet. He picks it up, takes it outside and tells it ‘Goodnight Cliffy’. If Cliff is in the Red, he can always talk to him. I doubt Animal Man will ever get over the death of his son, but this is a good place to wrap things up and leave everyone in a good place, especially as it would really cheapen it if he were ever to come back from the dead. Lemire took a real risk when he killed off a child, but it’s paid off.

The art in this issue was a real highlight, as original series artist Travel Foreman returned to tell the main story, and Jeff Lemire himself drew Maxine’s story. Having the artist of #1 and the regular writer draw this finale made it feel special, and managed to heighten the emotions of everything really. This was a great ending to one of the true highlights of the New 52. I’m excited to follow Lemire and Buddy over to the Justice League, but it won’t be the same for sure.

Staff Writer

The final issue of Animal Man here, and it’s bittersweet. It’s sad to say goodbye to this book, but of course, it’s not really goodbye, as Jeff Lemire will continue to write Buddy Baker in the pages of Justice League United, but still, that will be a different experience. This was a great epilogue to this run, and provided a nice bit of emotional closure for everyone about the death of Cliff Baker.

Lemire begins inside The Red, with Animal Man striking a deal with Socks and Sheperd. They become the new Totems (and totally digivolve when they do) in exchange for Buddy becoming the Avatar again, and for them to promise that Maxine will be left alone to be normal, and that when he dies, they’ll find someone totally new to be the next Avatar, which is a pretty fair deal all around I’d say.

Back in the real world, Buddy strikes a deal with Ellen too, he can still be Animal Man, but he can’t bring it home, the family has to be kept safe. Of course, all of this has the spectre of Bridgewalker hanging over it, and the promise Buddy made to her about becoming the universal Animal Man. There’s a shot of the creature in the background of one of the panels, and I’m certainly intrigued to see what happens when Lemire gets around to this story in the pages of JLU.

Buddy then goes in to check on Maxine, and she tells him a story. This story is basically a recap of the previous 28 issues, but from a kid’s perspective. It was great to celebrate and remember all of the cool stuff that happened in this run, but the most important thing here is the emotional place Maxine has reached when it comes to Cliff. She doesn’t want to bring him back anymore, as she now realises that, when she and her parents eventually die, they will be reunited, and that, thanks to the Red, she knows that Cliff’s spirit or soul or whatever is safe and happy in the Red. It was actually quite emotional.

The issue ends with Buddy saying goodnight to Maxine and Ellen, before spotting a spider on the carpet. He picks it up, takes it outside and tells it ‘Goodnight Cliffy’. If Cliff is in the Red, he can always talk to him. I doubt Animal Man will ever get over the death of his son, but this is a good place to wrap things up and leave everyone in a good place, especially as it would really cheapen it if he were ever to come back from the dead. Lemire took a real risk when he killed off a child, but it’s paid off.

The art in this issue was a real highlight, as original series artist Travel Foreman returned to tell the main story, and Jeff Lemire himself drew Maxine’s story. Having the artist of #1 and the regular writer draw this finale made it feel special, and managed to heighten the emotions of everything really. This was a great ending to one of the true highlights of the New 52. I’m excited to follow Lemire and Buddy over to the Justice League, but it won’t be the same for sure.

Staff Writer

The first story is from Jeff Parker and Craig Rousseau, and sees the Dynamic Duo up against Zelda The Great, a villain who’s main motives are perfect for this book. She’s an escape artist, and she basically spends the whole issue putting Batman and Robin into ridiculous death-traps which they have to escape from. I loved how Batman was able to keep away vicious scorpions through Tuvan throat singing, and even better was the escape we didn’t actually see because Zelda was too busy talking, that was just hilarious. There is some hidden depth to this story, as the person who Zelda was talking to was Haley, Dick Grayson’s date to Zelda’s show, who is impressed by the villain and in the end runs free and leaves her (presumably) boring life behind. This was a different kind of story than we’ve seen before in Batman ’66, but it was great to see that this book can be a bit more versatile. The only downside is that Rousseau’s art was probably the worst seen so far on this book, but it was still good, he just has great competition.

Competition that includes Chris Sprouse, who draws the second story, written by Tom Peyer. Sprouse is a fantastic, big name artist, so I was surprised to see him here, but he’s a great fit, and I think artists relish the chance to draw short stories like this in between bigger gigs. The story here focuses on Alfred’s criminal cousin, Egbert, who looks exactly like Alfred and knocks him out so he can assume his identity and rob Bruce Wayne. Of course, given that Egbert doesn’t know Bruce is Batman, his cover is soon blown, and Batman and Robin come up with a pretty genius way of outing him. This was a really funny story, and I loved the ending where Alfred got to show his bad-ass side by knocking out his cousin.

This book is just a delight each month, it always puts a smile on my face.

The first story is from Jeff Parker and Craig Rousseau, and sees the Dynamic Duo up against Zelda The Great, a villain who’s main motives are perfect for this book. She’s an escape artist, and she basically spends the whole issue putting Batman and Robin into ridiculous death-traps which they have to escape from. I loved how Batman was able to keep away vicious scorpions through Tuvan throat singing, and even better was the escape we didn’t actually see because Zelda was too busy talking, that was just hilarious. There is some hidden depth to this story, as the person who Zelda was talking to was Haley, Dick Grayson’s date to Zelda’s show, who is impressed by the villain and in the end runs free and leaves her (presumably) boring life behind. This was a different kind of story than we’ve seen before in Batman ’66, but it was great to see that this book can be a bit more versatile. The only downside is that Rousseau’s art was probably the worst seen so far on this book, but it was still good, he just has great competition.

Competition that includes Chris Sprouse, who draws the second story, written by Tom Peyer. Sprouse is a fantastic, big name artist, so I was surprised to see him here, but he’s a great fit, and I think artists relish the chance to draw short stories like this in between bigger gigs. The story here focuses on Alfred’s criminal cousin, Egbert, who looks exactly like Alfred and knocks him out so he can assume his identity and rob Bruce Wayne. Of course, given that Egbert doesn’t know Bruce is Batman, his cover is soon blown, and Batman and Robin come up with a pretty genius way of outing him. This was a really funny story, and I loved the ending where Alfred got to show his bad-ass side by knocking out his cousin.

This book is just a delight each month, it always puts a smile on my face.

Outhouse Drafter

Animal Man #29 - When the Rotworld crossover with Swamp Thing ended, I chose to drop this series in favor of making room for other titles on my pull list. Unfortunately, I really regret that decision. Jeff Lemire is a phenomenal writer and his work on this title is no exception. The finale of this particular volume of Animal Man is wonderful, tragic, whimsical, and foreboding all wrapped into a single issue that serves as a powerful summary of the series itself from the eyes of Maxine Baker. Despite being called "Animal Man," in a lot of ways this series has really been about Maxine and sometimes you forget just how young she really is. It was refreshing to see a child who has been through and witnessed so much tragedy, still view the world with such wonder and optimism.

That's not to say that this issue was light on Animal Man himself. Book-ending Maxine's tale, Buddy takes on a new, old role which serves as a way to reset the status quo of the character without needing to rely on some ridiculously convoluted plot device. They story concludes in a wonderful but heartbreaking scene in which Buddy make piece with the loss of his son in a truly touching way that only a comic like Animal Man could deliver.

There's not much that can really be said about the art in this issue. Travel Foreman returns for the parts of the story that happen in the here and now while Jeff Lemire illustrates the scenes that are narrated by Maxine. It's an absolutely brilliant contrast between two phenomenal artist that adds to the wonder, tragic, whimsical, and foreboding sense that I talked about earlier. Just a gorgeous issue.

Outhouse Drafter

Animal Man #29 - When the Rotworld crossover with Swamp Thing ended, I chose to drop this series in favor of making room for other titles on my pull list. Unfortunately, I really regret that decision. Jeff Lemire is a phenomenal writer and his work on this title is no exception. The finale of this particular volume of Animal Man is wonderful, tragic, whimsical, and foreboding all wrapped into a single issue that serves as a powerful summary of the series itself from the eyes of Maxine Baker. Despite being called "Animal Man," in a lot of ways this series has really been about Maxine and sometimes you forget just how young she really is. It was refreshing to see a child who has been through and witnessed so much tragedy, still view the world with such wonder and optimism.

That's not to say that this issue was light on Animal Man himself. Book-ending Maxine's tale, Buddy takes on a new, old role which serves as a way to reset the status quo of the character without needing to rely on some ridiculously convoluted plot device. They story concludes in a wonderful but heartbreaking scene in which Buddy make piece with the loss of his son in a truly touching way that only a comic like Animal Man could deliver.

There's not much that can really be said about the art in this issue. Travel Foreman returns for the parts of the story that happen in the here and now while Jeff Lemire illustrates the scenes that are narrated by Maxine. It's an absolutely brilliant contrast between two phenomenal artist that adds to the wonder, tragic, whimsical, and foreboding sense that I talked about earlier. Just a gorgeous issue.

Wrasslin' Fan

I was convinced for awhile that Lemire was going to bring Cliff back from the dead. I guess I'm a little cynical when it comes to death in comics these days. I was very glad to discover with this issue that Cliff didn't return. Don't get me wrong, I liked Cliff as a character, however I also believe that his death made Buddy a better character. I can't say I'd really like to see that reversed.

The overall story of this issue was just so bittersweet and amazing to read. The single panel splash pages that were used to depict the story Buddy told Maxine were beautiful to look at.

Wrasslin' Fan

I was convinced for awhile that Lemire was going to bring Cliff back from the dead. I guess I'm a little cynical when it comes to death in comics these days. I was very glad to discover with this issue that Cliff didn't return. Don't get me wrong, I liked Cliff as a character, however I also believe that his death made Buddy a better character. I can't say I'd really like to see that reversed.

The overall story of this issue was just so bittersweet and amazing to read. The single panel splash pages that were used to depict the story Buddy told Maxine were beautiful to look at.

Wrasslin' Fan

Two stories featuring two villains. The first had Batman dealing with Zelda the Great. This wasn't my favourite of the two stories. It wasn't bad, but I found I just didn't really care much about Zelda the Great.

I really enjoyed the second story which featured Alfred's evil cousin Eggbert taking his place at Wayne manor in order to pull off a crime. It was a much simpler story then the first, but I think this simplicity made it stronger.

Wrasslin' Fan

Two stories featuring two villains. The first had Batman dealing with Zelda the Great. This wasn't my favourite of the two stories. It wasn't bad, but I found I just didn't really care much about Zelda the Great.

I really enjoyed the second story which featured Alfred's evil cousin Eggbert taking his place at Wayne manor in order to pull off a crime. It was a much simpler story then the first, but I think this simplicity made it stronger.